A decade after first meeting young Eden Worth, midtown resident Wanda Goodman still thinks back on the time they shared.
Goodman, the owner of midtown business Wanda’s Creative Clay, started giving Eden sculpting lessons when the latter was just four years of age. Sadly, Eden was diagnosed with a brain tumour when she was five and passed away in 2013 just before she turned 13.
While Eden’s diagnosis and treatment meant she could no longer visit Goodman’s midtown shop, the sculpting teacher stayed close and brought the lessons to her ailing pupil.
"I got a call from her aunt who told me when Eden woke up in the hospital after surgery, she asked for me," Goodman recalled. "(Clay sculpture) was something she loved doing, so I would go and visit her and we would sculpt together at her home or in the hospital."
Now, the sculpting teacher is hosting an event in which she hopes to break the Guinness world record for largest clay sculpting class, with proceeds from the event going to The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids).
"I’m expecting between 500 and 700 people and I’ll give them step-by-step instructions on how to make an elephant holding a heart in its trunk, because elephants never forget," Goodman said.
While having 500 people come out would obliterate the existing record of 315 people in one sculpting class, Goodman wants to make sure her bases are covered.
"The guidelines for Guinness are very strict, so a lot of people try to break a record and don’t reach their goal," she said. "That’s not an option for me. I didn’t want to just coast over (the old record)."
Goodman recalled Eden as a sweet young girl who loved sculpting ladybugs and hearts and who was enamoured of butterflies and mystical creatures such as unicorns.
"She loved butterflies because she said they were hearts folded in half," Goodman said.
Through sponsorships, donations and other fundraising efforts, Goodman is looking to raise more than $10,000 for SickKids, with the donation coming in Eden’s name.
The event will take place at Centreville and Far Enough Farm’s KidsFest on Toronto Island, though registration for the event is open to children and adults alike.
"It’s such a great family event, I think the parents will love it too," Goodman said.
Registration for the fundraising record attempt will take place from 11 to 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 5, with the lesson itself taking place from 1 to 2:30 p.m.
To pre-register for the event, make a donation to the cause or learn more about the event, visit www.wandaontheisland.com
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